Frank McNamara (RAAF officer)

Born in Rushworth, Victoria, McNamara was the first of eight children to William Francis McNamara, a State Lands Department officer, and his wife Rosanna. He began his schooling in Rushworth, and completed his secondary education at Shepparton Agricultural High School, which he had entered via a scholarship. The family moved to Melbourne in 1910. He became a teacher after graduating from Melbourne Teachers' Training College in 1914, and taught at various schools in Victoria. He also enrolled in the University of Melbourne, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. ==World War I==

Militia to Australian Flying Corps As a militia officer, McNamara was mobilised for service in Australia when war was declared in August 1914. In March, McNamara departed Melbourne for Egypt aboard HMAT Orsova, arriving in Suez the following month. Completing his course at Upavon, McNamara was posted back to Egypt in August, but was hospitalised on 8 September with orchitis (an inflammation of the testes). Discharged on 6 October, he served briefly as a flying instructor with No. 22 Squadron RFC, before returning to No. 1 Squadron. On his first sortie, a reconnaissance mission over Sinai, McNamara was unaware that his plane had been hit by anti-aircraft fire; he returned to base with his engine's oil supply almost exhausted. Flying B.E.2s and Martinsydes, he undertook further scouting and bombing missions in the ensuing months. McNamara had successfully dropped three of his shells when the fourth exploded prematurely, badly wounded him in the leg with shrapnel, an effect he likened to being "hit with a sledgehammer". Allied airmen had been hacked to death by enemy troops in similar situations, and McNamara saw that a company of Turkish cavalry was fast approaching Rutherford's position. Having effected what was described in the Australian official history of the war as "a brilliant escape in the very nick of time and under hot fire", Drummond, Ellis, and Rutherford all wrote statements on 3–4 April attesting to their comrade's actions, Rutherford declaring that "the risk of Lieut. MacNamara being killed or captured was so great that even had he not been wounded he would have been justified in not attempting my rescue—the fact of his already being wounded makes his action one of outstanding gallantry—his determination and resource and utter disregard of danger throughout the operation was worthy of the highest praise". The first and only VC awarded to an Australian airman in World War I, Promoted to captain on 10 April 1917, McNamara became a flight commander in No. 4 Squadron AFC (also known until 1918 as No. 71 Squadron RFC), but was unable to continue flying due to the leg wound he suffered on 20 March. Found to be medically unfit for active service, McNamara was discharged from the Australian Flying Corps on 31 January 1918. In September 1918, he was posted as a flying instructor to Point Cook, where he saw out the remainder of the war. ==Between the wars==

K over St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, c. 1919–20. He was later married in the cathedral.|alt=Cathedral spire with biplane in level flight in the distance Following the disbandment of the AFC, McNamara transferred to the Australian Air Corps (AAC) in April 1920. McNamara was invested with his Victoria Cross by the Prince of Wales at Government House, Melbourne, on 26 May. Posted to RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne as Staff Officer Operations and Intelligence, McNamara was given command of No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) at Point Cook in July 1922. He was promoted squadron leader in March 1924 and the following month married Hélène Bluntschli, a Belgian national he had met in Cairo during the war, at St Patrick's Cathedral; McNamara travelled to England in 1925 for two years exchange with the Royal Air Force, serving at No. 5 Flying Training School, RAF Sealand, and the Directorate of Training at the Air Ministry, London. Returning to Australia in November 1927, he was appointed Second-in-Command No. 1 FTS. He was placed in charge of RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, including No. 1 Aircraft Depot, in February 1933. ==World War II==

When World War II broke out in September 1939, McNamara was serving as Air Liaison Officer at Australia House in London, a position he had held since January 1938. Shortly before being promoted air commodore in December, he advocated establishing a reception base to act as a headquarters for the RAAF in England and "generally to watch the interests of Australian personnel" who were stationed there. By November 1940 he had reversed his position, in favour of an Air Ministry proposal to process personnel of all nationalities in one RAF base camp. In the event, RAAF Overseas Headquarters was formed on 1 December 1941; Air Marshal Richard Williams was appointed Air Officer Commanding (AOC) and McNamara Deputy AOC. McNamara became acting air vice marshal and acting AOC of RAAF Overseas Headquarters when Williams returned to Australia in January 1942 for what was expected to be a temporary visit; Williams was subsequently posted to Washington, D.C. and McNamara retained command of the headquarters until the end of the year. McNamara was appointed AOC British Forces Aden in late 1942, Described in the official history of Australia in the war as a "backwater", British Forces Aden's main functions were conducting anti-submarine patrols and escorting convoys. McNamara flew on these missions whenever he could, generally as an observer, but enemy contact was rare. and returned to London in March. That month McNamara was deeply affected by the loss of his close friend Peter Drummond, who had helped keep attacking cavalry at bay during his Victoria Cross action in 1917. Drummond's Consolidated B-24 Liberator disappeared near the Azores en route to Canada and all aboard were presumed killed; McNamara had to break the news to his widow, Isabel. McNamara's health had also suffered from exposure to the desert dust in Aden, and he was unable to take up his next position as the RAAF's representative at the Ministry of Defence until September. His entire war was spent outside Australia. ==Retirement and legacy==

, London, for his investiture as a Companion of the Bath, flanked by his wife and son, in May 1945|alt=Three-quarter outdoor portrait of moustachioed man in military uniform with peaked cap and pilot's wings on left breast pocket, flanked by woman in hat and fur coat, and young man in military great coat and forage cap McNamara was summarily retired from the RAAF in 1946, along with several other senior commanders and veterans of World War I, officially to make way for the advancement of younger and equally capable officers. His role overseas had in any case become redundant. He was discharged from the Air Force on 11 July. Embittered by his dismissal from the RAAF and the meagre severance he received from the Australian Government, McNamara insisted that his Victoria Cross not be returned to Australia after his death; his family donated it to the RAF Museum, London. He was one of the few VC recipients to attain senior rank in the armed services, though RAAF historian Alan Stephens considered his appointments largely "routine" and that his one great deed led to "a degree of fame that he perhaps found burdensome". His name is borne by Frank McNamara Park in Shepparton, Victoria, and the Frank McNamara VC Club at Oakey Army Aviation Centre, Queensland. ==Notes==